Dress code...what our server told us

[oybolshoi]

Scotch, we dress formal on formal night. There are LOTS who do. You will not feel out of place wearing the suggested attire on any given evening. The folks on this board are a very small percentage of those on the cruise and, as you can tell from the debates, there are many on this board who still dress as suggested. We love dining when we cruise as opposed to eating dinner. We "eat dinner" at home.

Ditto! We love to dress up for dinner on the cruise - we rarely eat out wehn we're not on vacation so this is something special for us and we choose to enjoy it to the hilt. Dress as formally as you want - we do and have never felt out of place or conspicuous.

B.

 

[ladygypsy]

I must say I'm a bit surprised and disappointed after reading these posts -- I guess we should plan to go less dressy for "formal" night since it appears DCL's passengers seem even less inclined to follow suggested dress codes for the specially marked nights than the passengers on our Radiance cruise. I know I can wear whatever I want, but that special *atmosphere* of formal nights -- the magic if you will -- is missing for me if lots of folks around around me are wearing casual attire.

No! Dress up! Last year I wore a freaking TIARA with my formal dress (I feel compelled to post that I'm not a hoity-toity rich socialite...it was on sale for about $5.00) Sure I got some looks, but whatever! If you want to dress up and have the means to do so...then go ahead and do it. I saw a good amount of people last year who were dressed.

This year I spent less on my formal dress than I would on a pair of jeans.

 

[CamColt]

After what we saw on formal night in the dining, I think it's safe to say there is no enforced dress code.

I personally feel dressing up is part of the cruising experience and we look forward to doing so.

 

[outahere]

When we were on the eastbound repo, all of our "dress up" nights had us in Animators Palate, where they seemed to be having major air conditioning problems. The first night it was so hot, that I had to go back to the room and change...... no way could I eat wearing a jacket and tie. Even taking off the jacket didn't help. Because of that first night, we did not bother to "dress up" on the other two, and we were definitely not the only ones who didn't.

 

[Scotch]

No! Dress up! Last year I wore a freaking TIARA with my formal dress (I feel compelled to post that I'm not a hoity-toity rich socialite...it was on sale for about $5.00) Sure I got some looks, but whatever!

This was so funny! Thanks for sharing.

 

[TMTIP]

We returned from our 9/25 cruise and I could not believe the way people dressed at dinner. I saw jeans, t-shirts and just about everything in the dining rooms at night. It was very sad to see how little people thought of the whole dress-up experience.

The topper was at Palo's during brunch. Two people actually came in (they had reservations) in jean shorts and t-shirts. Could not believe it. Sad, Sad, Sad.

 

[mrsltg]

I must say I'm a bit surprised and disappointed after reading these posts -- I guess we should plan to go less dressy for "formal" night since it appears DCL's passengers seem even less inclined to follow suggested dress codes for the specially marked nights than the passengers on our Radiance cruise. I know I can wear whatever I want, but that special *atmosphere* of formal nights -- the magic if you will -- is missing for me if lots of folks around around me are wearing casual attire.

Dress in your finest! Many people, including my family, will be dressed appropriately for the setting.

Erin

 

[GhostlyHitchhiker]

I must say I'm a bit surprised and disappointed after reading these posts -- I guess we should plan to go less dressy for "formal" night since it appears DCL's passengers seem even less inclined to follow suggested dress codes for the specially marked nights than the passengers on our Radiance cruise. I know I can wear whatever I want, but that special *atmosphere* of formal nights -- the magic if you will -- is missing for me if lots of folks around around me are wearing casual attire.

Most of the debaters agree that formal and semi-formal night should be dressier nights. I have said before that I am happy they have a more relaxed attire guideline for the "cruise casual" nights, but I try to specifically state that I am not including semi-formal and formal nights in my posts. When we cruised on the Wonder in 2003 (supposedly it's gotten even more relaxed since we went), I wore a BALLGOWN to Tritons. In the middle of May. We were the most dressed in the entire dining room. We felt a little out of place, but even if we had scaled back a little, it would have been fine.

The Wonder is much more casual than the Magic. From what I've read on the Magic, formal and semi-formal night are just that. There may be one or two people who come to dinner not dressed up, but they are a very small percentage considering there are 2400+ people onboard typically.

I'm with others who have said that if they don't want to dress up on formal/semi-formal night, I'll do Topsiders, Pluto's or room service instead.

 

[slindamood]

We have sailed DCL twice, and dressed up both times for formal night. It was fun for us - my husband has a tux and only wears it on cruises. With his very best Mickey vest and bow tie.

We never eat out when at home - only when we travel, so why not play the part? One cruise was over Christmas, and about everyone in our seating was dressed quite formally. The other was the week before Christmas, and it was not quite as formal. Saw some lovely dresses both times.

Angie - we will be the other ones dressed up on the 12/09 double dip!! WE too like to dine when we cruise.

 

[Aisling]

Thanks to lines like DCL, cruising has become a family adventure, and cruise lines are making adjustments to accommodate all!!

Yes, I'm so glad they have a place like Topsiders for when we don't feel like changing out of our jeans, shorts, and Tees for dinner!

 

[crzy4magic]

Our experience is that the longer the cruise - or maybe it is being with people who have cruised more - the more likely they are to be "dressed" for formal and semi-formal nights. We have also noticed that people on late seating are more likely to be in formal wear than people in the early seating. It has also seemed across our 3 7-day cruises people were dressed up more each trip.

We are blessed with 3 sons who like to get all dressed up to show off for pictures for family. On every cruise they have chosen to ask us to bring blazers, ties and dress shoes. I gave in to DWs request, and we rented tuxedos for all 4 of us guys when we did the LA to Port Canaveral Repo cruise that had 2 formal nights. I have to admit, getting all of us dressed up was a project the first night, but the results were spectacular. I was amazed at how many people were all dressed up those 2 nights on the ship and was glad she had talked me into the tuxedos.

That being said, if I was on a 3 or 4 day cruise, all I would pack would be a blue blazer and dress slacks - not even a suit. I am not sure that I would go the formal route on a 7 day cruise again.

As far as the Serving staff goes, the thing to remember is that DCL is schooling them on making the passenger comfortable and happy. They want to make sure that you have a good time on the cruise and have happy memories. Of course DCL does motivate them with the need for income (tips) and employment (good reviews). But - the good servers are good regardless of the mercenary tactics of a few.

Relax and enjoy!

 

[Mickeyhugger]

While I won't notice if the person next to me is wearing a nice pair of jeans, I will notice if someone pops in wearing a "wife beater" shirt and looks as if they are fresh off their appearance on the latest episode of "Cops".

And it will affect my enjoyment (Heck, there is nothing in the dress code about wearing deodorant, so I guess that is out the window, too).


Jim

 

[crzy4magic]

When we were on the eastbound repo, all of our "dress up" nights had us in Animators Palate, where they seemed to be having major air conditioning problems. The first night it was so hot, that I had to go back to the room and change...... no way could I eat wearing a jacket and tie. Even taking off the jacket didn't help. Because of that first night, we did not bother to "dress up" on the other two, and we were definitely not the only ones who didn't.

Animator's Pallete was not the only unbearable location on the Magic during the Repo cruise. The Atrium was completely unbearable waiting in lines for pictures, as was Preludes, the halls on Decks 3 and 4 going aft and the elevator lobbies on Decks 8 and 9. The A/C clearly could not keep up with the humidy levels when people were going in and out of the exterior doors. Beat Street and Parrot Cay were the only places that I found adaquately chilled during the Eastbound Repositioning cruise. I hope that DCL did something to beef up the A/C capacity during the ongoing drydock period.

 

[Landy]

Just want to put my two cents in on the formal night question. I am going to be wearing a tux but really, I could care less what anyone else is wearing. I know my familiy and I are going to look good!!!!!!!!!

 

[skoi]

For those of you doubting- dress up. It's great fun.

We love to dress up on the cruise-- especially formal and semi-formal nights. DD and I are always more dressed up than dh and ds, but this year they're going to rent tuxedos for formal night after seeing how nice they looked at a recent wedding.

 

[Griffin33]

On our last Magic cruise, we had decided we were going to do formal nights in our room because we didn't even want to deal with formal clothing. We eat out a lot and have plenty of events that we must dress up for.

When we told our servers we would'nt be in the dining room for formal night, they said 'Nonsense! Wear clothes like you are wearing! (Island casual)'

We did and it was great. We were comfortable and, unless you wear something totally inappropriate, nobody cares what you have on anyhow! On an adults only cruise or a more formal ship, I will pack my tuxedo but when my 3 year old and 5 year old are with me on DCL, you will find me on formal night being the least common denominator.

 

[aprilgail2]

For those of you doubting- dress up. It's great fun.

We love to dress up on the cruise-- especially formal and semi-formal nights. DD and I are always more dressed up than dh and ds, but this year they're going to rent tuxedos for formal night after seeing how nice they looked at a recent wedding.

See I have the opposite feeling....for us it is NOT fun at all and we just don't like doing it.....which is why we ate at topsiders that night. I find nothing fun about having to get me and my daughter all dressed up on my vacation....I would rather kick back in casual clothes and not get dressed up and enjoy myself.....some people love getting dressed up but to others that have to get dressed up for work every single day or just don't like doing it then its a real pain in the butt. I have friends that went and she was looking so forward to getting all dressed up, she was a SAHM and didn't have to get dressed up every day for work, her husband had to wear a suit and tie for work every day and he was dreading having to do it on his vacation too....so everyone is different....